The thermometer read a relatively balmy eight degrees and the skies were dry at Sun-Oka Beach today for the 35th running of Summerland's Polar Bear Dip.
And that was likely the key reason this year's Dip was one of the biggest and busiest to date, with more than three hundred people gathering on the beach and fully a third of that actually making the noon plunge.
Summerland's Nathan Dykstra and dad Matt were two of 2020's most visible dippers, Nathan dressed like a chicken and Matt as a ripe banana.
"I heard about it last year," said Nathan, "and asked my dad if he wanted to do it. He said yes, and it was actually really fun." Matt agreed, adding that the event is "a great way to kick off the year."
Denise Patey, also of Summerland, had a similar costumed approach, only far more seasonal. She'd dressed in full Santa regalia from head to toe.
"I do it because it's fun and a great way to start the new year," she said prior to hitting the water. "I don't do crazy stuff like this all the time. If anything, I'm a couch potato."
Potato she may be, but Patey is nonetheless hardcore when it comes to January 1st aquatic events. "This is my second year doing this one," she said, "but in the past I've done Polar Bears in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans."
A somewhat younger participant was one-year-old Summerland resident Beau. Indeed, today was Beau's first birthday.
"He was born at 10 a.m. last January 1st," said mom Alisha, "the first baby born in the Okanagan last year."
Joining Beau in the water were mom and dad Mark, while big sister Caroline opted for the common sense approach - staying dry and watching the shenanigans unfold from the safety of the beach.
But not everyone was local. Warming themselves around one of the many bonfires this morning were siblings Bailin, Osver, and Aberdeen, who came to the Okanagan from Trochu, Alberta with mom and dad to visit family.
And mom Jeanine Lynch said their attendance at the Polar Bear Dip was solely the responsibility of her trio of kids. "They dragged us here," she laughed. "They said it looks like fun, so I guess if they go in, I go too."
But there was more serious stuff at work today. The Summerland Kinsmen Club is the Polar Bear Dip organizing body, and their members were kept sincerely busy from start to finish raising money through the sale of T-shirts, hot dogs, and hot chocolate.
"The money we raise today stays in the community of Summerland," said new Summerland Kinsmen president Jason Stuart while serving up hot dogs. "Our motto is 'Serving the Community's Needs,' and we take a look at anyone who requests funds and keep the money in Summerland."
After the craziness had subsided, past Summerland Kinsmen president Blair Gillingham, the man who'd given the official countdown via megaphone, added that, "Anything we can do to give back to the community, that’s where our funds go. Helping with building parks, or upgrading parks we've built in the past, helping people with groceries, or swim passes, or whatever is most needed."
Gillingham speculated they'd raised "a few hundred dollars" today, and was justifiably thrilled with the 2020 turnout.
"Over a hundred, I think, went into the water, and there was a few hundred on the beach. By the looks of it, this is a record for us. By far this is the best turnout we've had since I've been running this event for the past four or five years."
